The present invention concerns a device for protection by shielding an inflatable boat with floaters.
Various solutions have already been proposed to shield floating craft against powerful shoulder-held weapons.
One of these solutions consists of using a shielding material made of Kevlar in the form of a flexible fabric which, while not causing any large excess weight of the craft, is not sufficiently resistant to the impact of ordnance, for example, of calibers NATO 7.62, NATO 5.56, or 7.62xc3x9739.
Another known solution consists of using shielding material based on ceramics or a metal alloy which is sufficiently resistant to impacts of ordnance, but which causes a high excess weight of the craft, due to its relatively high weight per m2.
In addition, the various means used to date to fasten the shielding device to the hull of the craft are relatively complex and expensive.
The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate the above drawbacks by proposing a device for protection by shielding an inflatable boat with floaters comprising shielding plates which are fastened, in a juxtaposed arrangement, to the external faces of the floaters along their entire length, and which are made of a light material which is resistant to impacts of ordnance.
It is preferred for each shielding plate to be fastened in a removable manner to the external side of the corresponding floater by at least one strap which transversely holds the plate to the floater by being passed through an attachment ring which is fastened to the floater under the bottom part of the plate and whose two free ends are engaged in two tightening rings fastened to the internal face of the floater located inside the boat.
Advantageously, each shielding plate is fastened to the external face of the corresponding floater by two longitudinally spaced straps transversely holding the plate to the floater by being passed through two attachment rings fastened to the floater, respectively, under the bottom part of the plate, where the two free ends of each strap are engaged in two fastening rings attached to the internal side of the floater located inside the boat.
Each shielding plate is enclosed in a cover made of fabric and each strap made of fabric has an internal strand which is fastened by sewing to the internal face of the cover which is in contact with the external face of the floater, and its external strand is in contact with the external face of the cover.
It is preferred for the cover to be made of a fabric based on Hypalon(trademark) and neoprene.
The adjacent shielding plates are fastened to each other by detachable connection means.
It is preferred for each connection means connecting two adjacent shielding plates to comprise a strap which extends longitudinally with respect to the floater and which has one of its ends fastened by sewing to the external side of the cover containing one of the two adjacent shielding plates, while the opposite end of the strap engages in two tightening rings integrally connected to the external face of the other adjacent shielding plate by traversing its associated cover.
Each strap for connecting two adjacent shielding plates has one end sewn to the cover which is directed toward the front of the boat and its opposite end is engaged in the two rings directed toward the back of the boat.
The shielding plates are made by molding and they match the external shape of the floater.
Advantageously, the shielding plates descend approximately to the flotation line of the boat.
Each shielding plate is made of a composite material based on polyethylene with unidirectional fibers and vinyl ester resin.
The composite material comprises approximately 80 wt % polyethylene and approximately 20 wt % resin.
The material advantageously comprises four layers of polyethylene fibers with the unidirection fibers of a layer oriented at 90xc2x0 with respect to the unidirectional fibers of an adjacent layer.
The material has a weight of 17 kg per m2.